Description

Dig Dug is a 1-2 player arcade game in which you have to use your shovel to dig your way through the earth. Stopping you from doing this are two monsters, called Pooka and Fygar, who will continually chase you around. The only weapon that you carry is an air pump, which you can use to inflate the monsters to the point where they explode. (if you start to inflate them but stop doing so, the monsters will get turned back to their normal selves). Furthermore, rocks are scattered throughout the earth, and you can use these rocks to squash them. If the monsters do not find you for several seconds, they will eventually get turned into ghosts, which are able to walk through the earth. They are invincible and cannot be killed. From time to time, vegetables will appear in the center, and you can get these for points.

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Arcade version

In the coin-operated version the game ends on round 256 (shown as round 0) since this board is unplayable. At the start of the level, a Pooka is placed directly on top of where the player starts, with no way to kill it. This is a famous example of a kill screen (a area of a game that is impossible to play, usually caused by the oversight of developers.)

Release

Dig Dug was one of the "Fabulous Eleven" launch games for the Atari 7800.